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Increases in the cost of materials, along with a labor shortage, affect the property market and Travelers has identified six trends that create "the perfect storm." Click on the link below.

In this article we will provide tips on ways to maximize supplemental compensation - whether it is in the form of profit sharing, contingent commissions, supplemental compensation, new business bonuses, or any other bonus commission arrangement. Regardless of the form it takes, agencies can maximize bonus compensation and enhance their market relations if they take steps to improve production and profit with their core markets.

Key employees who are being considered future candidates for ownership need to be told what is expected of them in order to earn the privilege to purchase a minority interest in the agency. Keeping them in the dark can lead to their frustration, resentment and possible loss. This holds true for employees who are not family members as well as those who are.

Too often, insuranceagencies tend to renew their Errors & Omissions coverage with the same limit they had during the previous policy period. If this has been the practice in your insurance agency for a number of years, there is a good chance the E&O limit is significantly outdated. While there is no magic formula for calculating the proper E&O limit, small agencies can still cause big E&O claims, so there are a few things to keep in mind.

So tell me if this has ever happened to you in your office: you get a telephone call from a prospect, or perhaps it was an email lead that you obtained via your "Get an auto or homeowners quote" button on your agency website or Facebook fan page, and immediately either you and/or a member of your agency staff spring into action!

The buying habits of consumers who shop for services online have changed in the last few years. An emerging and important aspect of online marketing is the comments that customers make about businesses.

A traveler without a map or route guidance will simply wander. The same is true for an agency without a business plan. In this TOOLS article we will discuss how to develop a strategic business plan

The following questions can help you identify areas where insurance agency management fine-tuning may be beneficial in increasing revenue, profit, productivity or insurance agency value. Some questions are very basic (Agency Management 101) while others are more challenging. http://www.iroquoisgroup.com/sites/default/files/TOOL-Sept%202016.pdf

Insurance Management Solutions (IMS) by Xanatek -a powerful, innovative and affordable system that offers comprehensive insurance agency management, document imaging capabilities, ACORD, Real Time, carrier downloads for policy and commission, and so much more! http://www.iroquoisgroup.com/content/agency-management-system-ims-xanatek

The Hartford offered professional liability (also known as errors & omissions or E&O) coverage to the classes below. They will continue to offer the existing products to customers in these classes. http://www.iroquoisgroup.com/content/professionalliability

In most agencies, holding customers accountable seems to be one of the bigger frustrations. Have you ever thought or said "why is it always our fault when a customer has a loss that is not covered? They knew that they didn't have that coverage." For agents serious about minimizing the potential of their agency facing an E&O claim, achieving a high level of customer accountability is a great goal to strive for. To achieve this goal may require some hard work and some new initiatives. Documentation is a key but documentation is more than just words in the system. Any agency will be hard pressed to hold their customers accountable without a file that is well documented. However, documentation by itself will not get it done. Agents need to fully understand that when an E&O claim happens, the E&O carrier will look to secure the actual file in question (paper or electronic) to see what it looks like and what it contains. Solid documentation that is handled promptly, is accurate and professional will make the E&O carrier's job much easier. Conversely, a file with sketchy documentation could prove to be a problem in an E&O matter. Effective handling of client interactions is very important. Every day, customers are asking questions, modifying coverages, etc. The questions (and the answers provided) should be fully documented in the agency management system. In addition, requests to delete or decline coverage or to modify coverage in some manner should be documented as well. But documentation only in the system may not be enough. The agency should have a procedure for confirming / memorializing the discussion. Without this, mistakes can occur. Possibly, what the agency heard is not what the customer requested or possibly what the customer advised is not what they really meant. Let's take the scenario that the agency has provided a personal lines umbrella proposal and the customer calls to advise your agency that they are not going to purchase this coverage. W

Do you 'throw away' too many referrals? A producer I was working with was ecstatic one hot summer day because he had just obtained 10 referrals from a client. I was excited too and the producer was going to begin working those new referrals right away. Well, in tracking the success of those 10 referrals, only one got written. Is that good or just normal? Let's just say, both of us felt it should have been better. So, analyzing what took place led to the following results: * 2 were not reachable; the producer never connected with the decision-maker. * 2 were messy businesses that the producer realized would be declined if submitted * 3 had strong to severe loss issues * 1 failed to provide all the needed information * 1 was presented, but not sold * 1 was sold Could this one out of 10 scenario have been prevented? That is what we took it upon ourselves to evaluate. The first evaluation made was really there were only three the producer was either able to, or wanted to, quote. So, of that group, he was really one for three. But, what about the rest of the referrals - the ones not quoted? Preventable? In our analysis, many of those were preventable so that you wouldn't end up with 70 percent being "thrown away." The two that the producer was unable to reach were determined to be a problem based on the "introduction" he got from his client to those two prospects. (Note: You do ask to be introduced, don't you, when you obtain a referral?) The person calling their customer (our prospect) from the business was not someone known to them and thus, the call carried little weight. It was not a powerful introduction; it wasn't even a lukewarm introduction, so it was not surprising the producer couldn't get an appointment following that call. The five that were either messy businesses or had heavy losses weren't quality businesses. Was that the luck of the draw and he just accepted that when he asked for referrals, or could

We've heard some agents say selling insurance is an art. Others say it's a science. So which is it - art or science?

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Agency owners have many issues to deal with on a day-to-day basis and little time to address them. Sometimes this pressure can cause an owner to make simple but costly mistakes. In this article we address common mistakes that agency owners should try to avoid.

Running an agency has gotten very complex. The aging workforce, increasing scarcity of talent and growing demands of carriers are just a few of the challenges owners deal with every day. In spite of these challenges, many agencies are experiencing excellent revenue and profit growth. To accomplish this, they are not only doing the right things, but they are avoiding common mistakes that can hold them back. In this article we will discuss some common mistakes that owners should avoid.